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Takehiko Satō
Takehiko Satō (雄彦佐藤, Satō Takehiko) is Captain of the 8th Division, as well as one of the founding members of the newly formed Gotei 13 under the command of Captain Yoshirō Nobuyuki. With centuries of experience under his belt, Takehiko serves as Captain Nobuyuki's battle strategist and tactician, and is one of the most respected Shinigami serving in the organization. Because of his power and skills, Takehiko was referred to as "Hakai no Te" (破壊手, "Hand of Destruction") in the past for the level of devastation he could cause. He has since shed this name and is simply referred to by his title of Captain. Despite his intimidating appearance, Takehiko is known as a compassionate individual who mentors young recruits. One such individual is his lieutenant, Eiji Maruyama, an ambitious young Shinigami whom he is grooming to become captain one day. He also has the unfortunate title of widower after losing his wife in a terrible tragedy, something that had greatly effected him during his time in the Gotei 13. He appears to be great friends with 13th Division Captain Gan Ojima, having requested Ojima be the first Shinigami to be promoted into the new Gotei 13. He currently resides in the Bleach: War of Souls universe. Appearance Takehiko possesses a massive frame, the tallest of all the other captains and extremely muscular. His height towers over nearly all other Shinigami, who are often caught in his shadow when standing next to him. Because of this, others feel quite intimidated by his presence as they look up at him. His facial features include green eyes with bushy eyebrows, short black hair swept back that creates peaks on either side of his head while streaks of grey appear near the temples and down his long sideburns, marking his age. Scruff runs down the sides of his face to frame his powerful jaw and squared chin. He wears traditional Shinigami robes under a sleeveless captain's haori, while his hands and forearms are covered in a burgundy armor, and his pants are tucked into similar colored greaves. As part of tradition within his squad of wearing pieces of battle armor, Takehiko wears a matching colored chest place reminiscent to that of a samurai. Though during times of need, he will discord it in combat. A thick black cord is tied around his waist with the tips covered in a golden casing to finish his current captain's attire. He carries his sword tucked into the rope around his waist, accompanied by a second shorter sword. Tied around the sheath is a deep purple flower printed sash given to him by his wife as a keepsake and provide him with good luck. Since that time, he has never been without it. During the War of Souls, Takehiko wore a sleeveless lieutenant's uniform with his traditional red armor over his right arm. Takehiko is also known for having numerous scars on his body. These scars came after the death of his wife, where he had lost all hope and was constantly placing himself in danger. The most noticeable scars are the two crossing each other across his face in an "X" formation. The others are primarily hidden under his uniform but their numbers are comparable to that of former Captain Commander Yamamoto's. Personality A compassionate and humble man, one would assume to never see anything but an intimidating presence within Takehiko. As an old Shinigami present during the War of Souls, he comes from a life surrounded by war and is greatly respected throughout Soul Society as a battle strategist and powerful warrior. He's typically seen as an adviser to Captain Yoshirō Nobuyuki, who offers counsel alongside Captain Tamaki Miura. Within his division, his subordinates regard him as being a stern but fair man who shares centuries of wisdom on them. They follow his orders without question and have devoted their lives to his service. He is a soft spoken man even with his deep voice and remains always well mannered and polite to those around him. During combat, Takehiko remains just as composed. He regularly bows before initiating combat as a sign of respect and prefers the more traditional one-on-one form of combat. Though he is completely unafraid even when engaging multiple targets. While remaining humble with his abilities, he is entirely confident in them and never shows signs of distress or worry, and even engages in small talk during battle as a means to learn about his opponents. Though trained as a mighty warrior and one Gotei's most powerful captains, he openly states that he does like fighting and would much rather prefer talking instead of battling, giving his opponents an opportunity to flea if at all possible. But if no other alternatives are available, he will draw his blade and do whatever is necessary to uphold the law and bring justice to those that would harm Soul Society. He's also an honorable man, never resorting to dirty tactics or subterfuge to win battles. Instead, he uses his own battle prowess to overcome his opponents. Before his time as captain, Takehiko was married to a woman that meant the world to him. She fought alongside him during the War of Souls, serving as a medic, and the two ultimately fell in love and were married shortly after. Takehiko described his wife as the world to him and was a devoted husband. Unfortunately, tragedy struck and she perished, leaving Takehiko heartbroken. He spent a long time wallowing in his own depression and anger, throwing himself recklessly into battle, though ultimately walking away from each one. The scars on his body are a reminder of the pain he put himself through at her loss. It was Captain Nobuyuki who helped Takehiko realize that this was not what his wife would have wanted, and through tremendous effort realized his true purpose. Though gone, he built a small shrine near the 8th Divsion headquarters where he can be seen praying to her from time to time and leaving a collection of wild flowers she loved. Aside from his standing as captain and warrior, Takehiko has been regarded as being good with children, who seem to overlook his intimidating appearance and view him more as a guardian. His wife remarked that he would've have made an excellent father and admitted that he would have loved to have children of his own. History Not much is known about his life before joining the Gotei 13, but during the War of Souls, Takehiko Satō was the lieutenant of the 8th Division, having served under his captain as a leader of a small group of elite fighters. His abilities had spread throughout Soul Society and was quickly becoming a viable candidate for captain. But with the war knocking at his doorstep, he put those dreams aside to fight alongside his squad and captain. While hunting a group of hollows that were terrorizing an outer sector, his team was ambushed by dozens of hollows. He fought bravely alongside his comrades but were quickly overwhelmed, leaving him the last surviving member. Takehiko would have shared the same fate as his team if not for the intervention of his captain who rushed in to same him. Badly beaten, Takehiko was treated by a lower seated female officer while his captain took care of the surrounding hollows. After the skirmish, his captain approached Takehiko to see the lieutenant's condition. While his guard was down, his captain was struck down by an unnamed Arrancar with an attack that caused a massive explosion, incinerating him almost instantly. Takehiko would have shared the same fate if not for a last minute teleportation spell cast by the female treating him. During the restoration period of Soul Society, Takehiko fell into deep depression and blamed himself for his captain's death, believing that if had been stronger, his captain wouldn't have needed to step in. It was a difficult time for Takehiko, but the female that saved him stood by his side and helped him recover. The two quickly fell in love and within the next year, they were married. Recognizing his natural talent and power, Takehiko became acting-captain of the 8th Division and his wife would later be transferred to the 4th Division as a talented healer. What seemed like a perfect time, tragedy would strike Takehiko once more. What would be a routine mission, his wife met an untimely death and left Takehiko completely devastated. He once again fell into depression, isolating himself from others. Overwhelmed with grief and his inability to protect the ones he loved, he threw himself into battle with complete disregard to his safety. He would often go into battle alone or against orders, letting his hate and rage fuel him. It was during this time that Takehiko gained his numerous scars, each one being a reminder of what he lost. Consumed with sadness, Takehiko would one day be approached by Yoshirō Nobuyuki, a very powerful shinigami who also had served during the War of Souls and the only existing captain within the Gotei. He approached him with the idea of rebuilding the Gotei 13 and restoring order in all of Soul Society. Yoshirō even offered Takehiko the title of captain of the 8th Division, feeling his battle experience would be invaluable and giving him a sense of purpose. Slowly, Takehiko came back into the light, realizing that his late captain and wife would never want him to wollow in misery forever. Takehiko accepted the role of captain and became one of the founding members of the new Gotei 13. Plot Whispers of War Powers & Abilities Zanjutsu Master: Because of the nature of his Zanpakutō, Takehiko is known to be a master of all forms of armed combat, making him an extremely powerful combatant. As one of the oldest living shinigami, Takehiko has had centuries to refine his skills his combat and honed them to the point that he is nearly unmatched. Few could ever match him in combat. While his Zanpakutō is in its sealed form, Takehiko fights in a traditional two-handed grip able to fluidly transition between strikes and attacks even for his size. His method of swordsmanship is defined by its extreme precision and the notable absence of flashy maneuvers. Direct, without wasted movements, Takehiko is regarded as a deadly combatant with few that serve any challenege to him. Also because of the versatility of his weapon, he's shown to be ambidextrious, possessing equal speed and strength in both hands and able to flawlessly perform his attacks in the heat of battle. Even during his time as a lieutenant, Takehiko was known to be a quite powerful, able to take on whole groups without the need for assistance, and able to complete missions singlehandedly. The strength of his attacks are able to knock back opponents or drive them into the ground with an overhand strike, and hard substances such as wood or stone can be sliced cleanly. If he needed to disarm his opponents, he could slice their weapons with a simple swing while leaving the individuals completely unharmed. Because of his massive strength, he could send an invisible wave of force with a swing of his blade that was powerful enough to cleave large structures in two. Hakuda Master: Even without his Zanpakutō, Takehiko is extremely dangerous at hand-to-hand combat. Combined with his great strength, he could deliver powerful blows capable of destroying his opponents. His fighting style is reminiscent of Judo with a bit of Boxing fused into it. He takes advantage of his larger frame to overtake his opponents and either slam them to the ground or place them into a lock to immobilize them. Takehiko regularly grabs onto the collar of an opponent or their wrist to perform a toss, and can flawlessly take an opponent's momentum to use against them. When engaging in his wrestling style, his stance becomes a little wider, with hands up and open with his palms facing towards a target. While in this stance, he can quickly grab incoming physical attacks and counter them with a devastating throw. He's quite knowledgeable in the ways of locking opponent's limbs to cause extreme pain, or using his strength to actually snap limbs. When adopting his boxing stance, he makes himself much more active, constantly on his toes and hopping back and forth to keep himself in constant motion. This allows him greater ability to dodge and parry, while simultaneously throwing a powerful punch capable of sending his opponents flying backwards. Being struck by one of his punches sends vibrations through their entire body before ultimately being knocked back. With his strength, its not uncommon for him to break bones if he were to land any of punches. While utilizing those two forms the most, Takehiko is still fully capable of adopting other stances and styles to surprise his targets, but prefers to keep those talents until absolutely needed. *'Ikkotsu' (一骨, "Single Bone") A simple looking Hakuda technique, Takehiko uses his powerful frame and tremendous strength to throw a single punch capable of severely damaging his opponents. The force of this technique has enough power to even destroy a portion of his opponent's body while sending them flying through several layers of solid structures. Master Strategist & Tactician: Prior to becoming a captain, Takehiko was known for his skill in battle strategy and planning, and eventually become a squad leader for a group of elite soldiers. He has an extraordinary ability to calculate various scenarios in his head, allowing him to adjust and readjust to anything he faces. He can make split second decisions and is seldom ever caught off-guard. Even Yoshirō acknowledges his battle experience as a valuable asset to the Soul Society. With nearly a half of a millenium of battle experience, Takehiko is a very intelligent man when it comes to war and strategy. When engaging in mass battles, Takehiko is the one most turn to for guidance and direction. Amongst his fellow captains, his knowledge is unquestioned. Hohō Master: Even for a shinigami of his size, Takehiko is deceptively fast and able to move at seemingly the blink of an eye, disappearing and reappearing nearly instantaneously. Opponents have often misjudged his speed, which would ultimately prove their undoing and capable to keeping up with other masters with relative ease. His collosal speed is somewhat restricted to the heavy armor he wields, but even then, he's able to move swiftly and quickly. When Takehiko removes his armor, his full speed is released and can overwhelm an opponent in the blink of an eye. His speed is paired with many areas of combat, such as his fighting style to continuously strike his targets without relenting, increase his reflexes to dodge incoming projectiles or parry attacks, or combine his Kidō during his actions to constantly throw off his opponents. As a master, Takehiko is fully trained in all of its techniques and perform them with grace and speed. Immense Strength: His age has not hindered his strength and Takehiko has shown to have tremendous physical strength, capable of smashing through solid stone as if it were paper. Because of his massive frame, Takehiko can easily overpower most individuals when comes down to a test of strength. He takes advantage of this with his fighting style, utilizing grappling techniques to toss his opponents or trap an arm or leg and apply pressure until they submit. He was even shown capable of catching the fist of a giant hollow, who's size was that of several stories, while displaying no effort. A punch can cause the air to ripple when struck by its force and send them flying backwards. His physical might allows him to lift huge weights over his head with minimal effort or swing massive weapons without major difficulty. His leg muscles allow him to jump great heights to overcome obstacles or use them to perform powerful kicks to annihilate his opponents. Immense Durability: '''Takehiko has proven himself to be an extremely tough shinigami with durability seemingly on an entirely different level. During his time as a lieutenant and grieving from the loss of his wife, he seemingly threw himself into combat with complete disregard to his safety. He withstood multiple attacks, even allowing some of those attacks to strike him on purpose, and continued on during his battles ignoring his injuries. Because of this, Takehiko's body has naturally toughened during these times and can survive attacks that would prove fatal to others. He can absorb tremendous amounts of blunt force trauma, surviving being slammed through structures, falling from great heights, and has taken a Cero blast at close range with no visible injuries sustained. '''Kidō Master: It is widely known that Takehiko has mastered every form of Shinigami combat, including Kidō. Throughout the centuries, Takehiko has mastered the art of spell casting to the point of being able to unleash high level spells without incantations and deliver them with considerable power. Even at a young age, he had shown a talent for Kidō that was above other lieutenants at the time. His Hadō spells have shown to very powerful, capable of destroying large areas with a simple stating of the spell's name. His skill in Kidō casting rivals any other captain and typically performs low level spells because they hold sufficient power to serve their purpose. When engaging in combat, though, Takehiko perfers to engage in physical combat versus using Kidō. Immense Spiritual Power: Coursing through his entire body is an enormous amount of spiritual pressure said to be monstrous with the potential to severly damage the area around him if he were to exert it. Visibly, his aura is a deep red and known to very intense. Even when venting his power, he is capable of bringing weaker willed individuals to their knees with just a stare or smother them to the point their are unable to breath. Because of the sheer volume of spiritual power contained within him, Takehiko is able to mold that power to enhance his physical power and durability. Like Kenpachi Zaraki, Takehiko can exert his spiritual power in the form of a protective layer over his body to lessen the damage of incoming attacks. This allows him to seemingly take attacks head on without fear of injury. Only Kenzō Takeshi shows a similar ability, due primarily to his own vast amounts of spiritual pressure. Also like Zaraki, his enormous spiritual pressure augments the force of his attacks to the point of being able to cleave pillars in two or casting off the force as waves to attack from a distance. Zanpakutō Hakujinissen (白刃一閃, "Sword Brandishing Flash"; lit. "Flash of a Drawn Sword") To compliment his larger frame, Takehiko's Zanpakutō resembles a long ōdachi with a black sheath and red colored handle. The sword is found tucked into Takehiko's sash, though because of his size the sword appears proportionate to him as with normal sized katanas to Shinigami of average height. *'Shikai:' By stating the release command, Sharpen (研ぐ, "Togu"), Hakujinissen takes on a peculiar appearance very much against what would associated with Zanpakutō transformations. While most, if not all, gain some bladed form, Hakujinissen transforms into a long dark wood bokken, wooden practice swords used for training. Its dull and plain appearance makes this form quite misleading as its power revolves around changing its form to whatever weapon Takehiko wishes. : Shikai Special Ability: While Takehiko is still fully capable of fighting with this wooden weapon, Hakujinissen has one special ability that truly makes it a fearsome weapon in combat. While in its wooden form, Hakujinissen still retains great durability, able to easily clash against bladed or blunt weapons, even large ones, without breaking. Combined with his strength, Takehiko can also destroy solid objects with a simple swing of the bokken. But underneath this wooden weapon is powerful ability: :* Weapon Transformation: Hakujinissen's true power is its ability to change its appearance to any weapon he can imagine. Meaning his Zanpakutō has the potential for limitless formations dependent on Takehiko's creativity. These weapons can become nearly anything he can conceive, ranging from any bladed or blunt weapon created in history and replicate its properties perfectly, or a fusion of several concepts to form a completely new weapon altogether. This means the wooden bokken can morph into metal complete with sharp edges or piercing points depending on what it has morphed into. Also, the weapons he creates can also appear in various sizes, as well, allowing him to create larger versions of weapons he's seen or imagined, increasing the damage that can inflict on his targets. Hakujinissen has another unique ability to split itself into two weapons that he can hold in each hand, but these weapons are always connected near the handles by a metal chain. :* Energy Projection: Hakujinissen can also replicate firearms such as revolvers, rifles and cannons and using his own spiritual power as a fuel source, can unleash powerful blasts to destroy his opponents. He's even been able to form small gun turrets to unleash multiple blasts. Most of these projectiles explode on contact, but some can be used to negate other energy projectiles fired at him, such as a Hollow's Cero. Using this method, Takehiko can cancel these attacks and leave him completely unharmed. Depending on what sort of firearm or artillery weapon he creates, these blasts can range in size and power. *'Bankai:' Not yet seen, but it's name is '''Bishamon Mugen Hakujinissen' (毘沙門無限白刃一閃, "Bishamon's Infinite Sword Brandishing Flash"). It has been said that his Bankai gives him the ability to be a one-man army, and utterly devastating.'' Category:Male Category:Shinigami Category:Gotei 13 Category:8th Division Category:Shinigami Captain Category:Zanjutsu Master Category:Hakuda Master Category:Shunpo Master Category:Kido Master